Criminal Law UK

The maximum number of words permitted is 3,500 words There is no permitted

excess.
 You should only use footnotes for referencing. Footnotes which are only
references are not included in the word count. Footnotes which are attempting
to make points or explain the law are included in the word count.
 Words included in the bibliography are not included in the word count;
 You need not include cases or legislation in the bibliography provided they
have been properly referenced in the text or footnotes;
 Books, journals, reports etc. should be included in the bibliography, using
OSCOLA http://www.law.ox.ac.uk/publications/oscola.php;
 Any websites referred to must be properly referenced (i.e. the URL alone is
not sufficient – cf. OSCOLA, paragraph 3.4.8); and
 The text of your assessment must be displayed using a 12-point (or larger)
Arial or Verdana font and with a line spacing of at least 1.5.

Assessment criteria

You will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

Criterio Description
n
1. Evidence of legal research and wider reading

2. Use of your legal research to support your statements of law,

assertions and ideas

3. Identification and analysis of the relevant issues

4. Application of the issues and research to the assessment question(s)

5. Adopting a logical structure

6. Evidence of critical evaluation

7. Spelling, punctuation and grammar

Question

A luxury yacht operates out of England providing cruising, dining and water sports
entertainment to guests.

As part of the service the guests are entitled to borrow jet skis to use only within a
designated area of water marked out by buoys. On arrival all guests sign a hire
agreement on these terms. One of the guests, Erin, rides one of the jet skis beyond
the permitted area and seeing a friend on shore, abandons the jet ski without
tethering it to the dock. The jet ski washes out to sea and is eventually recovered but
is beyond repair.

Colin works on the yacht with his sister Anita. One evening Anita is out with friends
at a restaurant on shore. There she meets Simeon who buys her drinks and the two
talk into the evening. When Anita explains to Simeon that she must return to the
yacht for the night, Simeon becomes angry and suggests that as he has bought
Anita her drinks all evening, she owes it to him to return to his hotel with him. Anita
reluctantly agrees. She wakes the next morning in Simeon’s bed to discover they
have had sex. She leaves quickly and runs back to the yacht in tears.

Upon hearing of his sister’s ordeal, Colin is incensed. At the end of his shift, he goes
to confront Simeon. Simeon is unapologetic and a fist fight ensues that spills out
onto the dock. Cornered, Simeon leaps into the sea where he is pulled under by a
riptide and drowns.

Bilal is the chef on the yacht. One night, after preparing an evening meal for the
guests he retires to bed. Later that evening the guests order pizza and Anita puts a
pizza into the oven but then gets distracted. She returns to the galley to find the oven
on fire and sounds the fire alarm. Bilal leaps out of bed and attempts to put the fire
out but the fire becomes out of control. Victor, a sleeping guest, dies from smoke
inhalation.

During the various police investigations the following has become apparent:

1. Erin says she was not aware of the conditions of hire.

2. Simeon’s mobile phone has been recovered. It contains a Sexual Consent
App which appears to have a record that another user, identified as Anita, has
paired her phone with Simeon’s and “provided consent” for sexual activity.
Anita says she was too drunk to recall any of this and would never have
consented to intercourse.
3. Colin says that he “completely lost the plot” in response to Simeon’s treatment
of his sister.
4. Simeon could not swim.
5. Bilal had failed to clean the oven for several weeks leading to an
accumulation of food which became a fire hazard. He had erroneously
attempted to put out an electrical fire with water.

Based upon the factual scenario and the points apparent from the police
investigations, please, discuss the following:

- Colin and Bilal’s liability for homicide, and

- EITHER Erin’s liability for theft OR Simeon’s liability for sexual offences.